DANBURY -- The deaths of 20 young children and six educators in Sandy Hook may have moved the nation, but the tragedy may do little to change the gun culture that prevails across the country, according to U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty.

"This isn't about a culture of violence," Esty, a Democrat who represents the state's 5th District, said Friday during a meeting with The News-Times editorial board. "We've always had violence and guns in this country. This is about a culture of fear."

Esty said the AR-15, the style of weapon used in the Newtown massacre, is not only the most popular rifle in America today, it is also one of the most profitable for gun makers.

But efforts to install a federal ban on assault rifles in the wake of the deadliest elementary school shooting in the country's history likely won't move forward, Esty said.

The prospects, she said, are "challenging," adding that if a ban on assault weapons doesn't move out of the U.S. Senate, "it won't be considered in the House, that's pretty clear."

Even White House officials acknowledged this week that some gun control measures, including an assault weapons ban, face an uphill battle.

"We all recognize that all the components of this are difficult and face challenges, some perhaps even more than others," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters recently while aboard Air Force One. "But the president's support is firm and clear."

There may be some support on the federal level, Esty said, for a ban on high capacity magazines if the proposal is separated from other gun control legislation pending before Congress.

"There have been some discussions about splitting that off," she said Friday. "There is probably more support to ban high-capacity magazines than the weapons themselves."

Esty said more need to be done to fill the holes that exist in the federal database used for background checks.

"There are about 30 states that don't report mental health records," Esty said, adding that the federal government could use a sort of "carrots and sticks" approach with federal funding to force more states to comply.

Beyond the gun control measures being debated in Washington, Esty said, more attention needs to be focused on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. She said that funding cuts in recent years have left the agency with fewer agents than the Broward County sheriff's office in Florida.

The ATF, she said, has also been without a permanent director for more than six years.

"While the ATF has an acting director, he can't set policies," Esty said.

The congresswoman added that if the country is serious about addressing gun violence, more needs to be done to curb firearms trafficking and straw purchases.

"We have lots of laws on the books for drug trafficking, but not gun trafficking," Esty said.

Legislation that would make it illegal for straw purchases -- when someone buys a gun for someone else who isn't legally allowed to own one -- recently passed the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. The measure is expected to come before the chamber soon for a vote.

While the legislation received broad support from Democrats, only one Republican on the committee, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley from Iowa, a co-sponsor of the bill, voted in favor of the legislation.